Seminole Stands Firm On School Zoning

SANFORD -- Frustrated parents tried once more Tuesday to persuade the Seminole County School Board not to adopt controversial new high-school attendance zones, but board members would not budge.

The board voted unanimously to adopt the rezoning plan after listening to complaints from angry speakers who blame the board for forcing their children to switch schools.

"We all feel uncomfortable moving any students," board member Barry Gainer said. "It is not easy when it is your student. But we have to look at this as a countywide school system."

The board's vote will not end the debate. Parents have filed lawsuits in circuit and appeals courts in a last effort to overturn the new attendance zones.

School-district officials say the shift in high-school attendance zones is necessary to reduce overcrowding at some schools, fill vacant seats at others and provide students for the new Hagerty High, set to open in Oviedo in August. Officials said they also wanted to level out the racial and economic balance of students.

As many as 5,000 students across the county could be affected. But Superintendent Bill Vogel said that could drop to 2,000 or fewer if students take advantage of a grandfather clause permitting them to finish high school where they are enrolled.

Board members were required by law to let parents have one last say on the school rezoning plan adopted first in October and again in March, but have said for months they were unlikely to change their stand.

The School Board tried to justify its decision, but the crowd of about 150 attending the meeting at the school-district office in Sanford was unwilling to be placated. Many walked out in protest when the board began its final discussion leading to the vote.

While some parents have given up the fight and accepted that their children will attend different schools in the fall, many others remain adamantly against the switch. Several lined up Tuesday to tell the School Board why.

"We are seeking strong candidates to run against each one of you to assure that none of you will be re-elected," said Jennifer Finch, a Sabal Point resident who has led the rezoning resistance.

Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson will hear one challenge May 27. Parents hope to prove that the School Board violated the state's "Government in the Sunshine" laws in settling on the rezoning plan and also strayed from its policies on rezoning.

The suit filed in the 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach questions the findings of a state judge who backed the School Board's decision.